ITNSThey’re Here! The 2nd Edition of the Core Curriculum and the Clinical Ladder for Transplant Coordinators

This session will showcase two of ITNS’s most recent contributions to the field of transplant nursing: the second edition of the Core Curriculum for Transplant Nurses and the Clinical Ladder for Transplant Coordinators. Register for this session and the Annual Symposium today to save!

The White HouseEvery 10 minutes, someone is added to the waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant in the
United States. And every day, 22 people die while waiting. The Obama Administration, as
well as dozens of companies, foundations, universities, hospitals, and patient advocacy
organizations are taking steps to change that by announcing a new set of actions that will build
on the Administration’s efforts to improve outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants
and support for living donors.READ MORE

By Joan Spitrey In an effort to increase veterans' access to healthcare, the Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to amend its medical regulations and allow full practice authority for all VA advanced practiced registered nurses, or APRNs. The VA would join a growing number of states that currently allow them to practice independently. Although APRNs have been practicing safely and effectively, they continue to be the target of physician groups as the threat to income is perceived. READ MORE

The New York TimesSix years ago, Wang Huanming was paralyzed from the neck down after being injured wrestling with a friend. Today, he hopes he has found the answer to walking again: a new body for his head. Mr. Wang, a 62-year-old retired gas company worker, is one of several people in China who have volunteered for a body transplant at a hospital in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.READ MORE

Morning ConsultTen years ago, I was in the midst of a battle with a deadly form of liver disease known as cryptogenic cirrhosis when my doctors decided my only chance of survival was to receive a liver transplant. I was placed on the transplant waiting list and given an estimated wait time of two years, even though my cirrhosis meant that I might be dead in only one. The prospect of fighting such a debilitating disease with my failing liver was daunting — and to be honest, I didn’t have much hope I could make it.READ MORE

Healthcare FinanceFor the roughly 15,000 people who need a liver transplant, it's a waiting game. With demand for donated livers far outstripping supply, patients may spend months or years on a transplant waitlist, their position in the line gradually improving as they get sicker. A recent study suggests that this system may be changing but not necessarily for the better. READ MORE

Bio Edge Since 2005 about 40 people in Belgium and the Netherlands have successfully combined euthanasia with organ donation, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics by ethicists and transplant specialists. The doctors are so enthusiastic about the procedure that they have proposed legal changes which will speed up the procedure and maximize the number of donations. Although the numbers are still low, the idea is becoming more popular in both countries, according to the authors.READ MORE

STAT NewsThe man died in Pennsylvania. It was a stroke in the middle of the night.
Within hours, the news had traveled across the country. Phones vibrated and pinged and rang. Metallic automated voices gave brief reports. Those receiving the news wasted no time. They were soon poring over the man’s medical history — diabetes, high blood pressure — and studying the function of his heart, his liver, his pancreas, and his lungs. With a few clicks, some would even be able to inspect the glistening surface of his kidneys.READ MORE

News-MedicalSurgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System have — for the first time — used an orphan drug to prevent rejection of a kidney transplanted from a living donor with a mismatched blood type.
Michelle Lee, 47, had been on dialysis for almost six months due to kidney failure from high blood pressure. When her doctors told her she would need a kidney transplant, her three sons immediately stepped up.READ MORE